A Greater Purpose
by This cant be lily
Summary: Auriel isn't sure what to do when she is captured by bandits but when she is rescued by the soon to be discovered Dragonborn she feels as though she owes him. After she is put under house arrest at his house in Whiterun, she is desperate to do something daring and she is offered the chance when his housecarl is wounded and he needs to go to Morthal. OC Dragonborn x OC


A Greater Purpose

Chapter 1: Mysterious Emancipator

**Alrighty, this is my first chapter of my Skyrim FanFiction, This chapter is really short and I apologize, all of my chapters won't be so, but I made a rough transition. Comment or PM me if you see any mistakes. Review and Follow if you want another chapter, if no one reads or reviews I don't know if I'll continue it. R&R! **

**- This can't be Lily**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Skyrim, any of its locations, characters, dialogue, weapons etc.**_

It had been weeks since I was abducted off the road from Riverwood by bandits. I had spent all my time tied in to a tent post, free to whoever wanted me. I was powerless; no amount of screaming or begging or thrashing would convince them to let me go. I was battered and bruised, tired and dirty. All I wanted to do was go home, to wherever that was, all I could remember was a warm hearth and a comfortable bed. I moved slightly but hissed in pain as the ropes dug into my already raw skin. The tent flapped and I expected to see the bandit chief but instead I saw the bandit boy I had roughly befriended, Elijah. He brought me slim rations of food and water. He held some water to my chapped lips and I hastily drank it. He silently fed me the bread and exited the tent without a word. I leaned against the post and awaited the evening. It was like clockwork, how the bandit chief, Carlisle, would come in, appease his urges and leave. I was awaiting his return from his hunting. I was so tired from not sleeping that I leaned my head against the post and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Loud crashes of steel on steel awoke me from my pained dreams. I heard muffled groans and slicing of skin and Elijah burst in the tent, he had a sword in hand and he cut my bonds. He told me to hide in the corner. I crawled as well as I could to behind some chests. I saw a young man maybe a few years older than I follow him in, sword drawn and he cut down Elijah, showing no mercy. I screamed and his head whipped towards me. He pointed his sword at me and slowly approached. Seeing that I was unarmed and frankly scared out of my wits, he sheathed his sword and crouched next to me. I pushed myself up against the wall of the tent as far away from him as I could.

"I won't hurt you," he said gently. I believed his kind tone but was still wary of the fact he had slaughtered Elijah right in front of me. "Who are you?" he asked softly. I looked into his eyes, they were an emerald green and I saw that he meant no harm. The eyes are the windows to the soul after all.

"Auriel," I said only barely audible. I couldn't speak very well and it hurt to move; though having the ropes off of my wrists was nice.

"Auriel ….?" He asked. I was about to speak but I didn't know. How could I have forgotten my own last name? I knit my eyebrows together and lowered my eyes. "Do you know?" He asked looking into my eyes. I shook my head. "Well, I'm Aryn, Aryn the Fearless," he continued. He reached out and touched my face at which I flinched. He ran his fingers over my cheek which made me shiver. "Do you know somewhere I can take you?" He asked seeing the current state I was in. I shook my head and he asked me, "I can take you to a doctor in Whiterun, if you like?" I nodded and he touched my knees causing me to whimper. "I'm guessing you can't walk?"

I shook my head and he gingerly picked me up. I didn't have any strength to fight him, nor did I want to. He stepped over my friend and I cast my eyes away. He ducked under the tent flaps and I was exposed to sunlight. It was late morning I judged by the position of the sun and I felt relief flooding over me. I let a few streams of tears run down my face as I saw the peaks of the Whiterun walls coming into sight. Aryn walked rather fast though not causing me too much discomfort. I was so exhausted, so tired and relieved that I was slowly losing consciousness.

"Stay with me," I heard his voice whisper though it seemed to be all around me. My mind was fogging and I was letting go of my will to stay awake. I slowly dropped my head and the world faded . . .

**) oOo (**

I awoke in the grass of a field and at first I thought all of it had been a sick nightmare, but as my eyes focused, I perceived a small fire and a young man crouched near it.

"Ah," he said, "You're awake." I ran my eyes over his features, noting a small scar on the upper left of his top lip. "How are you?" he asked.

"I-I don't feel well," I replied honestly. He studied my face intently, noticing how tattered my clothes were and that I must have been freezing, he stood and came over to me to give me his cloak. I shrank away slightly and shivered when the rough material covered my small body. "Thank you," I murmured softly and he nodded in response. It fell quite around the small enclosure of shrubs and trees until Aryn spoke,

"It's about another days walk to Whiterun." I nodded. "But seeing as you cannot walk at an average pace, it may take longer." I looked down, slightly ashamed that I could do nothing to help that. "Unless, we can find a horse or a carriage," he stated weighing the odds in his mind. From the moment I met him, he had not noticed the stab in my side, frankly neither had I and I had no recollection of receiving a wound. It began to bleed and I shuddered in pain as I clasped my side. Aryn furrowed his eyebrows and came over to me. He crouched next to me and observed my wound and my pained expression. He gently moved my hand and saw the bleeding wound spreading fast through the white material of my garments.

"It hurts," I said to him in a pained voice and I began gasping for breath as the wound stung.

"I can tell," Aryn said softly, "You won't make it to Whiterun bleeding this much," he said. He wrapped his cloak tightly around me and picked me up.

"I'm going to die, aren't I," I said in a low, pitiful, voice. He bit his lip as though pondering the right thing to say to me. I tried to stay awake until I heard him say,

"No, no you're not." He saw my head bobbing slightly between consciousness so he tossed me lightly, evoking a pained groan, and said, "Stay with me now, come on Auriel," he shook me but I couldn't fight it any longer. I felt him pick up his pace, which was already quite brisk, and listened to his heartbeat as his voice faded and my vision darkened . . .

) oOo (

"These lacerations are quite grave," I heard a voice say and I opened my eyes slightly. "She seems to be coming to." I opened my eyes to see Aryn and an elderly man leaning over me concernedly. "These will need to be cauterized and sealed with a hot iron," the man said to my dismay, "The infection will not heal with salve." Aryn nodded and could obviously see the panic in my eyes and my ragged breathing.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked quietly. He looked over my injuries and replied gravely,

"I am not completely sure," he paused and pondered his next words, "I have this feeling that stumbling upon you wasn't an accident and that there's a greater purpose for having you alive."

"So you're using me for something," I stated weakly as pain shot through my body. I grimaced and after furrowing his brow he replied,

"Well no," he stated, "Anyone who's been fighting for their lives as long as you have deserves a chance to have a life. It's going to be okay." He patted my hand and the muscles in my arms tensed as the doctor came back over from the fire with a red hot poker.

"Hold her down," he said as he twisted a piece of leather and pushed it between my teeth. I felt two strong, rough hands clamp down on my shoulder. I ground my teeth into the leather and looked at him desperately as though it would stop the pain I knew was coming. I felt the piercing hot iron sear my skin. I screamed in agony and begged him to make it stop even though I knew it wasn't going to. The pain was suddenly unbearable and my vision blurred. "Keep her awake," the doctor said roughly as the smell of burning flesh entered my nose. Aryn shook my shoulders which slammed the back of my head into the table and I cried out as I lost consciousness.


End file.
